SIM card re-registration illegal and won't solve the problems – Sam George

He believes the Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation extending the deadline for SIM card registration from March 31, 2022, to July 31, 2022, will not solve the problems associated with the exercise.

Though he welcomed the extension, he said he will challenge the legality of the procedure of the registration.

Speaking on TV3, Sam Goerge said "The point must be made that this extension will buy some time, but will not fix the problem. Given the magnitude of the problem, the extension is not sufficient enough. The solution to this problem is what we are going to move on to now."

"We have managed to secure the extension, what we are going to do now is to challenge the legality of the procedure, that is our next line of action, we are challenging the legality of the SIM registration process as ongoing. We are not saying SIM registration is illegal, we are saying the procedure and the methodology the Minister has laid out through the NCA is illegal," he added.

A statement from the ministry issued on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, said: "As of 17 March, 14,091,542 SIM cards had been linked to the Ghana card" while "10,348,532 bio-captures” had been conducted and 99,445 new SIMs registered.

"Due to a number factors including the fact that over 7.5 million citizens and residents are yet to obtain Ghana cards to enable them to register their SIM cards, it is clear that the deadline for the completion of the registration of the remaining active SIM cards cannot be met," the statement from the ministry said.

The statement signed by the sector Minister, Ursula Owusu also added that more time will be required to update the SIM registration app for the registration of diplomats while a self-service SIM registration app is also being developed to facilitate the registration of SIM cards for Ghanaian residents abroad.